Red
"..." Red is the protagonist of the first generation of Pokémon games and a wrestler in VGCW. He debuted as Ash Ketchum, his anime counterpart, and was known by that identity before winning the Casual Championship. He was the Casual Champion and successfully defended his title a record five consecutive times and six times overall over the course of 148 days, making him the longest-reigning champion of any title in VGCW history. In Pokémon The main character of Pokémon Red/''Green''/''Blue''/''Yellow'' (and their remakes) and also making an appearance as the final boss of Gold/Silver/Crystal, Red traveled from Pallet Town with a Bulbasaur/Charmander/Squirtle/Pikachu on his Pokémon journey. Unlike a certain trainer from an animated adaptation of Pokémon, Red actually achieved his goals, winning the Pokémon League, essentially dismantling the Team Rocket crime syndicate, and, depending on whether he had a friend with a link cable and enough patience to win enough credits at the Game Corner to buy a Porygon, catch all 151 of the original Pokémon. The Pokémon Trainer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl was modeled after him too, which is also cool. In VGCW Route 1 Long before his rise to stardom, Ash Ketchum stepped into VGCW to take on a new Pokémon wrestling league challenge. Ash struggled to achieve success early in his career, and this combined with his bizarrely horrifying visage eventually put him on VGCW's chopping block. He participated in the first-ever "I Quit" match against Ness, but was able to defeat his fellow creepy-looking child and save his career. In 2013, Ash started to gain upward momentum, defeating his newly-arrived rival, who (for some reason) hates him very bad, and very nearly winning the Casual Championship Scramble match. Although he lost a short feud with Dan Hibiki, Ash's persistence and newly-achieved popularity with the crowd eventually landed him in a six-man Battle Royal for the #1 contendership to the Casual Championship. Ash pinned four of his five opponents and won the match to earn a title match against Guile Lt. Surge. Ash's aggressiveness throughout the match would pay off as he claimed his Thunder Badge and became the new Casual Champion. Everyone tried to press B for an unknown reason that day. The Blood Red Champion After winning the Casual Championship, Ash had gained enough experience to evolve into his manga/game counterpart Red. Red debuted his new look, moveset, and entrance theme on the 2013-03-07 stream in a title defense against Mario, who had become the #1 contender after taking second place in a Royal Rumble. Red was quickly able to inflict tremendous damage to his opponent, causing Mario to bleed profusely, but the plumber showed great fortitude and refused to make the trainer's first title defense an easy one. Finally, after enduring a fall to the floor outside the ring, his head bashing against the ring post, and multiple helpings of Red's new finishing DDT, the Giga Impact, Mario ran out of stamina when Red put an end to his last comeback effort with an arm drag and won his second badge, the Mushroom Badge. Following the title match, a six-man Battle Royal was held to determine Red's next challenger. The winner of this match was the hated Game Grump JonTron Cena, who faced off against Red in the 2013-03-19 broadcast. The match started off evenly, but the contest was unexpectedly interrupted when the broadcast went dark! Fortunately Red was prepared for such an event, and the match continued after he used Flash. Jon proved unable to keep up with Red's superior speed and focused attacks, and Red was able to win the match by pinfall. With the victory, Red became the first Casual Champion to successfully defend the title more than once and won the Grump Badge. The greatest threat to Red's winning streak and title reign thus far came from an unexpected source. Mario's greedier counterpart Giovanni Wario won a six-man Hell in a Cell match to earn a championship match, and stepped into the ring to face Red during the 2013-04-02 Season 3 finale. Many observers expected Red to easily dispatch Wario, who possessed an all-around pitiful record in competition. Wario exceeded all expectations by controlling the grand majority of the match, connecting with a total of five finishers and leaving Red bleeding and battered. Still, Red endured the assault as well as blatant referee interference, never once staying down for longer than a count of one during Wario's pinfall attempts. When Wario left Red outside the ring and began to gloat in anticipation of his impending victory, Red rushed back in and connected with an unrelenting sequence of moves, shaking off seemingly all traces of his fatigue. Red's final assault proved to be super-effective as he immediately pinned Wario to wrap up his third successful title defense for the Money Badge. Defending Mt. Silver After the hostile takeover of the VGCW by Grimsley Dracula, Majin Vegeta was named the #1 contender to the Casual Championship, but on 2013-04-17, the day their title match was to take place, he switched opponents with Dan so that each of them would be facing their old rivals. Prior to the match, Red competed in the night's Royal Rumble in the hopes of later challenging the VGCW Champion. Red was able to throw out both "Mayor of Earth" Mike Haggar and "The Hero of Earth" Mr. Satan before his might got tested by Scorpion and failed. At the least, Red did not seem to use up too much stamina competing in the Rumble, and he was able to properly warm up before his match with Dan. In the extreme rules match that followed, Red and Dan laid into each other with a variety of weapons. Red showed flashes of his pre-evolution days by missing a moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the table that would have finished off the Alpha Male, but was able to regain his composure. Red eventually caused Dan to faint with a new variation of his finisher, thereby earning his fifth badge, the Saikyo Badge. Unfortunately for Red, defeating a member of the Drac Pack meant that he was now a marked man - immediately after the match, Kefka and Majin Vegeta appeared and made direct eye contact with the champion, which, according to Pokemon League rules, meant he was contractually obligated to do battle with them. Dan swiftly recovered and all three villains proceeded to beat down the weakened champion in a triple battle. Red was notably absent from the following two episodes, leading some to wonder if the Drac Pack's beatdown had seriously injured him. However, he recovered well enough by the 2013-05-08 episode to face the new #1 contender: newly-minted crowd favorite Marshal Barret Wallace. Wallace was coming off a hot streak that included an impressive showing in a Royal Rumble, nearly upsetting The Practice in a handicap match, and defeating three wrestlers and a very crotchety PS3 to earn the title shot. As one would expect, the crowd was split between cheering for Red and cheering for Wallace. Wallace took control of the early part of the match after landing several clotheslines, but Red endured, and returned a series of solid blows before sending Barret through Table-san. From then on the match was evenly and hotly contested, until Barret was able to make Red bleed. In retaliation, Red busted Barret open as well with a Giga Impact, and was eventually able to land the finishing attack again to clinch the match. With that win, Red not only earned the Avalanche Badge, but also successfully defended the Casual title for the fifth time, breaking Ganondorf's previous record of four consecutive singles championship defenses. Falcon Vs. Red: Big Blue Wants To Battle! In his very next match, Red's undefeated record and streak of championship defenses would be brutally ended. Captain Falcon's victory on 2013-05-15 set him up as the #1 contender for the Casual Championship and the two faced off on the 2013-05-23 episode in a title match. Captain Falcon refused to show Red any rest or any mercy, punching and kicking his head over and over. Even after being subjected to the Lou Thesz press dozens of times and having his head busted open, Red simply refused to give up the fight. With Red bleeding and ailing, the two took the fight outside the ring, trading momentum until Falcon seized it firmly with both hands, grabbed Red and drove him right through the barricade. At that point, Red was finally out of usable Pokémon fighting spirit, and he whited out... However, rather than finishing the champion off, Falcon dashed back into the ring and celebrated his victory, taking his eyes off the prize in a moment of overwhelming enthusiasm. Red thus lost the match by countout, meaning he still held the Casual Championship despite the defeat. On the 2013-05-29 show, Captain Falcon announced that he had talked to Dracula, and that the GM of VGCW had granted him a non-title match with Red that night and, should Falcon win, the two would once again fight for the championship. This time, however, there would be no countout victory: the stipulations were "No countouts, no weapons, no title, no excuses, pinfalls only, Final Destination." The rematch played out much like the previous match, with Falcon unloading on Red with Falcon Punch after Falcon Punch, even spearing him through the barricade again. Falcon eventually knocked the wind out of Red after hurling him off of the top turnbuckle, and covered him for the pin. Falcon thus became the first man to pin Red since 2013-01-22, before he had evolved from Ash. The two were thus set for their final showdown at End Game 4, this time with Red's Casual Championship once again on the line. Captain Falcon clearly represented the greatest threat to Red's lengthy reign that he had ever faced, and for the first time since he had won the title, Red appeared to be the clear underdog. Once more, precautions were taken to ensure that the match could not be won by countout and would reach a decisive conclusion - Red and Falcon would do battle inside the unforgiving structure of the Hell in a Cell. Though Red fared better against the racer, Falcon still seemed to have the edge. Red resorted to taking their match outside the ring, brutally slamming Falcon against the cage and floor before suplexing him through the Cell wall. The battle became barbaric as both men pulled out all the stops, and Red was eventually busted open. Falcon appeared to have the match in hand after landing a devastating Falcon Punch, but Red managed to kick out and find his second wind. Red dug down deep and reversed a Falcon Punch into his Giga Impact DDT out of nowhere, finally breaking through the captain's resilient helmet to make him bleed. With Falcon out cold, Red covered his opponent, earning a win against all odds and retaining his championship (as well as the Falcon Badge). After the match, covered in blood, both men respectfully shook hands as Red climbed back to the top of Mt. Silver to celebrate his victory. Red whited out! In the break between Seasons 4 and 5, Red surpassed Gerudo Skies' championship reign to become the longest-reigning champion of any title in VGCW history. Speculation abounded as to who Red would next face in order to earn the all-important eighth badge. The answer proved to be Segata Sanshiro, who, upon winning a Fatal 4 Way match during the Season 5 Premiere, became the No.1 Contender to Red's Casual Championship. Segata had a personal grudge against Red, as before he had evolved from Ash, he had been persuaded by Woody to play with his toys instead of playing video games, causing Segata to rage. Though Ash had escaped Segata's ire, the act would at last come back to haunt Red, as Segata channeled all of his fury into their championship match. Though Red showed his usual aggressiveness, he appeared to underestimate Segata's resiliency, targeting the mighty martial artist's torso in a vain attempt to wear him down. Segata punished Red severely for his naive efforts, eventually hurling him into the ring from the top turnbuckle and pinning him before he could recover, thus ending Red's unprecedented reign as Casual Champion. With the title gone from his hands at last, and before he could earn his eighth badge, only time would tell what awaited Red in the future. The following week, Red decided to talk (?!) to Adam Jensen about a future Title shot for the VGCW Championship when Gabe Newell decided to drop in on the conversation. Jensen translated for Red that he felt like he was in the running for a chance at the gold after being so dominant in the Casual division. Gabe decided to put the 6-time defending Casual Champion to the ultimate test by putting him up against 3-time VGCW Champion, Ganondorf. Although Red was down and out since the beginning, he did manage to land his Giga Impact DDT on the Dark Lord and looked to be making a comeback. However, the Dark Lord wouldn't take that lying down and landed his Gerudo Valley Driver and landed the 3-count for the victory. With winning only 1/5 of his most recent matches, what does this mean for the Kanto Kid? Can he recover from this recent slump? Red would try to recover from his recent slump by facing Primape Donkey Kong in a match to settle who stole his hat a #1 Contender. As the match kicked off, it was back and forth as each wrestler mounted offense of their own and had their fair share of moments. As the match progressed to the second-half, Red landed a Sky Attack on the Big Monkey and would soon use that momentum to land a Giga Impact DDT. Most people would have assumed that Red would be victorious, but he wanted the match to progress and didn't go for the pin! A decision that would eventually come back to haunt him as Donkey Kong soon maintained a comeback and made Red bleed with a DK Punch. With the music on his side, Donkey Kong landed a Banana Slamma and put Red out for the count. With this loss, DK shoots up to the Top 5 of the company and Red not even in the Top 20. Ever since his loss to Segata Sanshiro, it would seem like the Kanto Kid can't attain another victory even though he came as close as he could have against Donkey Kong. Can Red even gain another win at this point to turn his recent losses into wins? Or is the dream of being at the top of Victory Road unattainable? As it turned out, the answer would come in the form of an Extreme Rules match against recent VGCW newcomer Air Man, who himself had just come off a defeat at the hands of Groose . Looking to turn his recent slump around, Red went for an early offensive; however, Air man was having none of it, and the match quickly turned into a back and forth contest, both combatants looking to take control and keep their momentum going. However, the balance of power soon tipped in the Robot Master's favour, when the action spilled out of the ring and the weapons were brought into play, particularly when Air Man grabbed hold of a set of steel ladders, though not without Red dishing out some hurt of his own in return. Air Man would then attempt to put an end to the contest with his patented Air Shooter, however the Kanto Kid was able to kick out at 1, and soon hit back with a Giga Impact DDT after the action had moved back outside the ring, bloodying his opponent in the process. Unfortunately for Red, all this seemed to do was spur the Robot Master onwards, with Air Man promptly kicking out at a 1-count himself. This was soon followed by a second Air Shooter, and with the beating he had endured over the course of the match, the former casual champion found himself defeated once again, and for the third time in a row since losing the Casual Championship. Following this latest defeat, things are not looking good in the slightest for the Kanto Kid. With just one win in his last seven matches, Red looks to be in a perilous situation - at this rate, his next match could very well make or break his future in the VGCW... and it all depends upon who he next faces within the squared circle. Miscellaneous Facts Since even before his evolution, Red has demonstrated an affinity for blood. Ever since the 6-man Battle Royal in which he became the #1 contender to the Casual title, he has earned each of his victories after making his opponents bleed, often while bleeding himself. The source of Red's ability to make his opponents bleed was not clear until a deep study of his move list revealed that it is heavily focused on targeting the head with vicious kicks, punches, and slams. Red is also skilled at weapon use and fighting outside the ring, using his environment to its fullest to make his opponent bleed. Does blood make Red stronger? Or is it something else? The color red does look good on him, though. Badges Received Red has received a badge following each of his title match victories. Bazza has stated that he had intended to grant Red a VGCW Championship match should he earn eight badges, but was no longer certain he would go forward with the idea following Red's two losses to Captain Falcon. As Red lost the Casual Championship before he could earn his eighth badge, the concept will likely not come to fruition. *Family Man Badge - Guile *Mushroom Badge - Mario *Grump Badge - JonTron *Money Badge - Wario *Saikyo Badge - Dan *Avalanche Badge - Barret Wallace *Falcon Badge - Captain Falcon *Saturn Badge - Segata Sanshiro (Unobtained) Gallery ash.png|An unbiased comparison of Red and Ash redbattle.jpg|He's been training redvsref.gif|Red vs The Ref Blood Red.jpg|Red Bloodlust activated, Shit just got real. Trainer Red Sprinting Sneakers.jpg|Red Sponsored Nike Running Shoes, Water, Snow and Blood proof. Battle Tested on Mt.Silver. Red Dead Redemtion.png|From The Dying Ash, a Red Flame Was Born For Redemption. Blood Red Reign.jpg|Counters, Counters Everywhere Dead Zombie Red.png|Red Dead Rest Mtsilver.png|Red looking down on Mt. Silver Red Man.png Non-Royal Rumble Record Please note, these are records for both Red and his previous form: Ash Ketchum